"Distance Education in Africa: Prospects and Challenges"

Tulane Institute for International Development (TIID) invites you to its March Seminar under the Tulane International Development 2000 Seminar Series.

Speaker: Dr. Barbara Fillip
Hear the Introduction by Dr. Samarasinghe
View Dr. Fillip's Presentation
View the AVU's Presentation  
Hear the Question & Answer Session

This presentation will discuss the opportunities for addressing some of the educational challenges on the African continent through distance education in the context of the information and communication revolution; as well as the challenges that remain in the implementation of technology-enhanced distance education initiatives.  Issues addressed will include: 1)Infrastructure; 2) Policy framework; 3) Institutional issues; 4) Funding and costs; 5) Skills; 6) Quality; 7) Collaboration; and 8) Participation.  Finally, a broad framework for possible donor support will be outlined.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Fillip has a broad background in development studies and  strong regional expertise in Africa.   She has a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Her dissertation was on the World Bank's approach to governance issues in developing countries.  Since then Dr. Fillip has been working mostly as a researcher/consultant for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

Dr. Fillip has done a number of reports for JICA, including: Aid Coordination in Africa, Humanitarian Demining, The Role of Ideas in Development, Information and Communication Technologies for Development, Environmental Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Knowledge Management.  The most recent ones have been on distance education and private sector development in Africa.

Dr. Fillip also teaches courses on ICTs for developing countries at the USDA Graduate School.